CHINA 'HIDES' SARS VICTIMS

Sky News ^ | 4-16-03

[Prince Charles]

CHINA 'HIDES' SARS VICTIMS

The World Health Organisation has accused China of failing to report new cases of the deadly Sars virus at military hospitals.

It estimates Beijing has up to 200 "probable" casees, as opposed to the official claim of 37.

The health body had earlier said it was denied access to Chinese military hospitals.

"Indeed, there have been cases of Sars - there is no question about that - that have also not been reported," said German WHO virologist Wolfgang Preiser.

"The military seems to have its own reporting system which does not link it presently with the municipal one."

It comes as Sars claimed another five lives in Hong Kong, bringing the worldwide total to more than 160.

Scientists are scrambling to unravel the secrets of Sars but WHO doctors admit they are no nearer a cure.

Medical officials have said they have no idea of the potential of the virus.

They believe the answers they are seeking could be found in southern China, where it is thought to have developed.

Checks carried out at Hong Kong Airport

At the United Nations in New York, a senior WHO official said Sars could be a disease that is here to stay, like tuberculosis or malaria.

"What's dangerous about this is we don't know its potential," said Dr David Heymann, head of the WHO's Communicable Diseases Cluster.

And as health authorities struggle to contain its global spread, Sars is attacking families.

In Hong Kong, three babies born prematurely by Cesaerian section after their mothers were badly infected were displaying Sars-like fevers and breathing problems, doctors said.

One of the mothers died not long after she gave birth. The two other women remain in hospital.

The vulnerability of familes to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has been further highlighted as the global death toll rose to at least 155 when Singapore announced its latest fatality.

The Straits Times said the dead woman was the mother of a cardiologist who also died of Sars last week.

Gloves and masks worn to protect against virus

The newspaper also reported that a man who died on Tuesday was the uncle of a woman who brought the virus back from Hong Kong in February.

She remains in hospital after unknowingly spreading the illness to dozens - including both her parents and her pastor, all three of whom died.

Although scientists still know little about the illness, authorities believe it can be passed on by intimate contact.

Hundreds of relatives of Sars victims have gone into quarantine in several countries.

Mainland China has reported 120 deaths - 56 of them in Hong Kong - with another 13 in Canada and 13 in Singapore. Vietnam has had five deaths, Thailand two and Malaysia one.

In Canada, health officials said they had linked 31 possible Sars cases, including members of a religious community and two physicians, to the funeral of a Sars victim. Officials only determined the man had the disease after the funeral.

The 500 members of the Toronto group and 100 people who worked with some of them were told to go into quarantine for 10 days in case they were exposed.

Toronto, Canada's largest city, is the epicenter of the largest Sars outbreak outside of Asia.

Last Updated: 10:07 UK, Wednesday April 16, 2003

[Puppage]

Would I throw a lighted match if my friend Rocky was in there?

[tallhappy]

SARS was initially called atypical pneumonia in China and began there last fall. It started a panic in southern China well before SARS became known or reported in the western media.

Before SARS existed as SARS there were already hundreds of atypical pneumonia cases in China. Perhaps there were even hundreds of deaths.

I understand how China can get away with so much stuff. No one ever pays attention to them.

[tallhappy]

You might Rabbit, you might.